Tom writes:

Like water from a tap, your behaviour flows from your story. If you want to live differently, start believing a different story. One story looks back; it focuses on who I was or what has happened to me; I was wronged by this person, I’ve always been controlled by my sexual desires, I was a drunkard and swindler and on and on. A story that looks back assumes you are defined by your past and, due to the limitations and struggles you have had in your past, you end up living like you did. You turn on the old rusty tap and hope that a cold, cloudy bath will be “permissible”. Paul sings about a different story and a different tap. This story looks forward, not back. In the future you will co-rule the world. After the return of Jesus the saints will co-rule with Jesus as judges on the earth. Doesn’t that change everything? Doesn’t it bestow dignity and gratitude upon you? Doesn’t it stagger you with a sense of privilege and make you want to live up to the honour that has been poured onto your life?

Also this story tells us that any wrong done to us now will be repaid on “That Day”. I can cope with being cheated because in the future I will be repaid. Any loss now will be noted by God and more than compensated from his bountiful purse. Doesn’t that change the equation of every interaction in your day? If we really believe that anything anyone takes from us will be repaid seven times over then we can be much more generous when being treated with disdain. And the third delicious truth about this future story is that we will inherit the Kingdom - the full magnificent abundance of the Kingdom - as long as we remain connected to Christ. He has already spoken over us the “elevation” that will be given on “that day” and that statement will hold as long as we don’t recant our salvation through persistent denials or pervasive misdeeds. And doesn’t that change how we think of our desires? So many fleeting attractions - like an illicit sexual moment - are so small and grubby compared to what is to come. When we listen to the forward-looking story we can, like a weary worker coming in from the fields, know that there is a bath waiting for us that is delightfully warm. So we walk towards the house with a spring in our step; grateful to the one who has run it for us, and refusing to be distracted by the cold and cloudy puddles on the floor.

Question for reflection

When you co-rule creation, what particular project would you love to do for the glory of Jesus?

1 Corinthians 6 - Thursday 23rd May